other · Korea and Japan

Sendai Domain

1600 CE – 1871 CE · capital Sendai

The great northern domain founded by Date Masamune, third largest in Tokugawa Japan and leader of the northern alliance against the Meiji government.

Origins

Date Masamune, who had sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1600, began building Aoba castle at Sendai in 1601 and laid out the city around it. The domain was assessed at 620,000 koku, though its actual yield was much higher.

Rule and society

Masamune developed rice land on the Sendai plain and shipped surplus rice to Edo, and in 1613 he sent Hasekura Tsunenaga on an embassy to Spain and Rome. A long succession crisis, the Date disturbance of the 1660s, ended in a famous hearing before the shogunate in 1671. The domain had a large samurai class and maintained the Date family's cultural patronage.

Decline and legacy

In 1868 Sendai led the Ouetsu Reppan Domei in defence of Aizu but surrendered that autumn, and its lands were reduced. After abolition in 1871 it became part of Miyagi Prefecture.

Lineage

Date clan domain 1542 CE – 1600 CESendai DomainEmpire of Japan 1868 CE – 1945 CE

Connections (2)

Sendai Domain was part of Tokugawa Shogunate1603 CE – 1867 CE
Ouetsu Reppan Domei was part of Sendai Domain1868 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sendai Domain. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sendai-domain
MLA: “Sendai Domain.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sendai-domain. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Sendai Domain.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sendai-domain.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sendai Domain’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sendai-domain (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻